As I ran with the emergency team to push Liam’s bed into the elevator, I was on auto pilot. I couldn’t think past getting him upstairs and into the operating room. The surgery team was already waiting for us as the elevators opened. I wanted to go with him, but I wasn’t certified for an operation like this.
As Liam was wheeled away and the double doors to the operating room closed behind him, I finally let the grief free and fell back against the nearest wall. Liam. He was dying. I could lose my newest and dearest friend…
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I’d just spoken with him on the phone two days ago. Had seen him just a few days before that at the last Sunday visitation at the rehab before his release. He had looked so healthy compared to how he had been when I had first dropped him off. Liam had been full of life and there hadn’t been a drug in sight to help him through the demons that I knew he had. We had made plans to meet up this Sunday and just hang out because we had gotten so used to seeing each other on a weekly basis. Sundays were our days and I knew he looked forward to them just as much as I did—probably more since he considered me his only friend now.
I stood there for several minutes before the nurse that had been assisting me finally nudged me with her elbow. “A friend of yours?” All I could do was nod. “Do you need me to call anyone?”
Dread churned in my gut. There were phone calls that had to be made, but I was the only one who could do that. Otherwise the hospital would be descended on by vultures. The paps would be all over this story in a heartbeat. Legendary drug addict rocker in critical condition after a head-on collision with a drunk driver. They would automatically assume it had been Liam that had been at fault, Liam who had been the drunk driver. “No. I need to do that.”
I rode the elevator back down to the ER, but instead of going to the nurses’ station I went back to the break room and fished my cellphone from my coat pocket. My fingers were trembling as they hovered over the contact list. Whom should I call first?
His sister? Marissa was going to fall to pieces when she found out her beloved brother was hanging on the verge of death. Emmie? She was his manager, the one who would have to handle the press and everything else that would come with the news that Liam Bryant, the bassist for OtherWorld, had been in a car accident that involved a drunk driver. I had Devlin Cutter’s number in my contact list. He was the drummer for OtherWorld, but he was in California at the moment.
Without thinking, I ran my finger across the name that I saw next and put the phone to my ear. It wasn’t too late, just after eleven. Still, I knew she’d had plans for tonight that involved a sexy piece of fine, gay ass. Natalie and Linc seemed joined at the hip these days. They only had each other lately since I was always working and Harper had moved to the West Coast.
“Hey!” Natalie greeted on the fourth ring. Loud music was playing in the background and there was male and female laughter. “You get off early? Come party with us.”
I sucked in a steadying breath. “Nat… I need your help.”
My shift ended, but I didn’t go home. Instead I went straight up to the OR waiting room and sat there. It was empty at the moment as only emergency surgery was done this time of night, but it wouldn’t have mattered if the room were overflowing. I wouldn’t have seen any of it. All I could think about was if my friend was okay.
I sat there for nearly an hour before the first call came in. It was Emmie, assuring me that she would be out on the first available plane. With the weather and everyone traveling back home after the holidays she couldn’t even charter a plane, so she was on standby. We didn’t chat for more than a minute. When she hung up, the phone rang again. It was Marissa’s number but Wroth on the line. They couldn’t get a flight out of Tennessee until the next afternoon so he was going to drive Marissa up tonight. I promised Liam’s cousin I would keep him informed while listening to a sobbing Marissa in the background. I adored Marissa. She was the kind of person who you were just drawn to whether you wanted to or not. Her grief only escalated my own and made my chest hurt.
Another hour passed and Natalie showed up. She had been taking care of security and countless other things that Emmie had ordered her to deal with. Now that she had a free moment, she sat down beside me. Neither of us spoke, but Natalie put her hand in mine and I clasped it tightly in thanks for her silent support. I could barely deal with that much human contact without flinching away. My hands felt frozen compared to Natalie’s warmer ones.
It was nearly two in the morning before the surgeon who had been with me when Liam was brought in finally came out. His shirt was soaked with sweat and his face was gray with strain. When he spotted me sitting there his eyes widened but he didn’t hesitate to approach me. I stood, my fingers numb and trembling. “He’s a friend of yours?”
I nodded. “Yes. His sister is on her way, but until then I’m all he has.”
Doctor Jenson sighed as he ran a hand over his sweaty forehead. “Okay, Dallas. At least I don’t have to sugarcoat it for you.”
“Is he alive?” I demanded, needing to know that before he spoke another word.
“Yes.” A relieved sob escaped me before I could call it back and the doctor’s face tightened. “Barely.”
“So just spit it out,” I commanded, too distraught to care about manners. My emotions were too close to the surface and I was about to snap.
“I relieved the pressure on his brain. There was so much swelling that I had no other choice. His spleen was removed and we were able to stop the bleeding from his liver. While he was under, he seized twice, complicating the process, but he is stable at the moment.” I twisted my fingers together but nodded in understanding so Dr. Jenson continued. “His wrist was set, but on top of that he is going to have to undergo a few more surgeries within the next few days. His left leg is shattered, not just broken, and will need a rod to replace his femur. As for the spine, I’ve had to call in a consultant for that. With all the swelling there is no way to rule out spinal injuries.”
“What are you going to do for now?”
Jenson grimaced. “He’s in ICU at the moment. Unconscious. His brain activity is slow at best. The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours are going to be difficult. I don’t know if there is any brain damage, or what other effects he could have sustained from the severity of the brain bleed that caused all of the pressure.” He reached for my hands and gave them a comforting squeeze before stepping back. “I’ll keep you posted, Dallas. Someone will come out and let you know when he’s settled in ICU and you can visit him for a few minutes. Maybe hearing a familiar voice will help.”
All I could do was nod and he turned for the door. When it was closed behind him, I fell down in the chair next to Natalie once more. She had been listening intently to the whole conversation. We continued to sit there. Quiet. Anxious. Praying.
Axton
The party was still going strong. There was booze flowing freely. Chicks running around in various stages of nakedness. The music was kickass. Everyone was having a rockin’ time even though the ball had dropped over an hour ago. This was my party. I had set it up on the spur of the moment. Made a few phone calls and let nature take over from there. My neighbors were either in attendance or out at their own New Year’s parties because I hadn’t received any complaints.
The only problem?
I was bored. Out. Of. My. Fucking. Mind.
To me the booze tasted like ass. The music was giving me a raging headache. And the chicks? I had hot chicks trying to stick their tongues down my throat—or in other places—but I couldn’t find the enthusiasm to take them up on the offers. Nothing held an appeal. The world seemed fuzzy and colorless.
It was all Dallas’s fault.
She had wormed her way in too deep. Wrapped my heart in roots with her name tattooed on them. Now I couldn’t even get hard for another woman. Couldn’t do jack shit because she wanted nothing to do with me.
Not for the first time, my phone vibrated and I barely glanced down at it to ch
eck the caller ID. Emmie. Again. I grimaced and hit the ignore button even though every fiber inside of me was screaming to answer her call. It went against nature not to jump on my phone the instant that little redhead’s name and picture popped up on my cell. My gut clenched. My heart felt speared through.
I was being a dick for not answering. I’d been nothing but a dick for the last several weeks. It wasn’t Emmie’s fault I couldn’t get my life figured out right now. If anything she was probably the only one still on my side. Fuck. She was the only one who had ever been on my side—the only person who had ever cared about me unconditionally.
For the longest time I had been blind to my true feelings about Emmie. Had thought for sure that I was in love with that girl. I might still be thinking along those lines if it hadn’t been for Dallas… The phone stopped vibrating and I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d been seconds away from actually answering this time.
People came up to sit beside me where I was camped out on my couch. I didn’t pay them any attention. Ignored anything they tried to say to me. Didn’t they understand that I didn’t care if they drank all my booze, trashed my apartment, or even stole my shit when they left? All I wanted was to be left alone.
How long I just sat there staring off into space, ignoring my phone, I wasn’t sure. When someone’s hand smacked across my face in an all-too-familiar sting I blinked and glared up at the little Italian goddess standing over me. “What the fuck, Gabriella?”
The tears are what caught me off guard. I got to my feet quickly, never able to stand the sight of her tears. Damn it. I might not be in love with her, but I’d tried to fall for her. Tried so fucking hard that I had even inked her name into my skin to help lie to myself a little better. “What is it?” I demanded. Gabriella Moreitti was not a crier for just any reason. If she was this upset then something was definitely wrong. “Jordan?”
She shook her head, the tears falling harder. “Liam. It’s all over the news. He was in an accident tonight. Drunk driver. It’s all kinds of confusing. Some are saying it’s his fault, others are saying he was completely sober. But they are all saying he is in critical condition.” She grabbed my arms, hard. “No one will fucking tell me anything, Ax. And I can’t get past the fucking guards at the hospital. They won’t let me near him. Please. Please, Ax. Help me. I need to see him. To talk to him.” A sob raked her body and she buried her face in my chest. “I never should have broken up with him.”
Guilt washed over me and I felt my own eyes start to sting. Liam. No wonder Emmie hadn’t given up calling me. I was the only one even in New York at the moment, so of course she would want me at the hospital with my bandmate. Cursing, I grasped her hand and pulled her out of the apartment.
A car was already waiting for us. Gabriella’s grandfather’s driver hit the gas as soon as we were inside. She was still crying so I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and lifted my phone to my ear to listen to Emmie’s many voice mails. I was such a douchebag. Fucking, fuck. I sucked at being a friend and band member.
OtherWorld was nothing like Demon’s Wings. We were friends, sure. Some of us more than others. Devlin and Zander? They had grown up on the bad side of town, and only had each other to rely on. Wroth and Liam? Their blood bond made them tight, even if Wroth seemed to hate his cousin at times. I was the outcast—the rich boy who they had only put up with in the beginning because they had needed me to replace their vocalist.
We didn’t know what was going on in each other’s lives. Didn’t connect regularly unless we were on tour and had to put up with each other. They weren’t my family. Not like Nik, Drake, Shane, and Jesse were. Harris sure as hell didn’t call me Uncle Ax like Mia and Lucy did.
But that didn’t mean I was emotionless when I found out just how bad Liam’s condition was in Emmie’s last voice mail. Damn, how was he still alive if all of that was wrong with him?
As soon as the car stopped, Gabriella was out and pulling me with her. There were paps everywhere. Cameras, reporters, even news vans. Cameras flashed as Gabriella pulled me toward the hospital entrance. Four big men in suits stood guard. When they recognized me they nodded but tried to stop Gabriella as she passed.
“She’s with me,” I barked at the man and tucked her closer to me.
After a small hesitation the guard nodded and let her pass. I didn’t need to ask anyone where Liam was. The trail of guards was like neon beacons. Two were stationed at the elevators. Two more when we stepped off. Another one at the ICU waiting room door, and another two outside the ICU ward. Even though Emmie wasn’t here, I could see her handiwork. Or Natalie’s, who followed Emmie’s every direction without question.
As soon as the door opened I saw the only thing that had been on my mind all evening long.
Dallas sat on a plastic chair hunched over. Natalie sat with her on one side and Linc on the other. She had on her work scrubs in a baby blue that reminded me of her eyes. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail but strands had come down, framing her beautiful face. Her head snapped up when she heard the door open and her eyes instantly turned cold.
I turned my attention to Drake who stood in a corner looking exhausted, no sign of Lana and the baby. It was safer for the moment to look anywhere but at Dallas.
“How is he?” Gabriella demanded of Dallas, not caring that she had just stepped into a war zone.
I’d heard about the cat fight between Layla and Gabriella followed just as quickly by the beating Emmie had given Gabriella. My ex had known what she was up against then, and had still ran her mouth to Em. Gabriella had no clue what she was up against when it came to Dallas—fuck, I had no clue what she was up against. It was going to depend on the mood Dallas was in but it could go either way right then.
“You would fucking know if you hadn’t turned your back on him,” Dallas growled, getting to her feet so quickly that if Linc hadn’t grabbed her around the waist she would have been on top of Gabriella in less than a blink of an eye. She struggled against the hold Linc had on her waist. The man was nothing but muscle but seemed to be having some difficulty holding onto Dallas.
I heard a sob tear from Gabriella’s chest. “I know,” she whispered brokenly.
Damn. Gabriella crying wasn’t something I could handle. Not because I still thought myself in love with her—something I had never actually thought—but because it took so much to make her cry. I knew how upset she must be over Liam being in a car accident. Her cousin, Alexis, had been in a wreck that had nearly killed her and for a while, robbed her of the ability to walk. This had to be twice as horrific to Gabriella now.
Instead of touching her I stayed where I was, because yeah, as stupid as I had been in the past, I wasn’t so dumb that I didn’t see what the outcome of offering Gabriella comfort right then would be. For one Gabriella probably would rip my head off for even offering. For another… Dallas was liable to break Linc’s arm to get free and then rip my favorite organ off and stomp on it.
I glanced at Natalie. “Is there any news on Liam?”
She got to her feet slowly. I knew she was professional and efficient enough that she wouldn’t spit in my face, but the coldness in her eyes told me exactly where her loyalties were and they were with the still-struggling nurse behind her. “He’s out of surgery, but he’s still in critical care. They haven’t let us see him yet, but someone should be out soon to let Dallas back. I need her in there to tell me exactly what’s going on so I can let Emmie know.”
“What happened?” I still wasn’t completely sure what had gone on. “Was he high?”
My question had Dallas fighting harder against Linc. “No, he wasn’t fucking high!” she screamed, spit flying out of her mouth she was so wild now. “He’s clean. I did the tox screen myself.” Gabriella sobbed again, shaking her head and muttering to herself in Italian. “He’s cleaned up his act, you asshat. And he doesn’t need pricks like you pushing him back down.”
That surprised me because I was sure that Liam would have been the intoxicat
ed driver at fault. Guilt ate at me for not having faith in my friend, but he had given me plenty of reasons in the past not to trust him when it came to his sobriety. “How badly was he hurt?”
Natalie sighed and started counting off on her fingers the things the doctor said were going on with Liam. Each one seemed to be worse than the last and my stomach started to toss and turn as I realized that Liam was in some serious shit here. My first thought, however, wasn’t for Liam, but for his sister. Marissa would have no blood family left if Liam died. As much as I disliked Liam at times, Marissa was a different matter. No one—absolutely no one—could meet Marissa and not instantly care about her. She was too sweet, too pure of heart. She had been through too much in her life. Losing her brother shouldn’t be added to that long list.
Natalie was still talking when the door opened behind me and a nurse walked in. “Dallas, you can come back now if you’re ready.”
Gabriella turned as soon as she heard the other nurse’s voice. At five-foot-six, the nurse stood over Gabriella a good three inches and possibly outweighed her by twenty pounds, but that didn’t seem to matter. Gabriella grasped the woman’s arms, causing her to wince in pain. “Please. I have to see him. Please, I’m begging you.”
The nurse raised a brow at the little Italian. “Are you family?” When Gabriella hesitated the nurse shook her head. “Sorry, but only family can see him.”
“No. Please. I’m going to marry him. Doesn’t that count for anything?” She was sobbing again. “I love him…”
Everyone in the room was so shocked that no one moved for a moment. Even Dallas seemed so surprised by the confession that she stopped struggling. I was bowled over. Gabriella wanted to marry Liam? The girl was a slave to her music and had always told me, and on countless times especially her grandfather, that she would never marry anyone unless they were one hundred and fifty percent completely her soul mate. We had both known I wasn’t in that category and honestly the very idea of marrying her had terrified me.